Haunted People: Take 2
by Hollywoodlover95
Summary: Since she was fourteen he was infatuated with her...but then she left. The Joker had cleared his mind of Beth for two years but a chance encounter brings her back into his life (not that she ever knew she was). He takes her because now he can and he's not letting her go. Set in the time of "The Dark Knight". Improved version of "Haunted People".
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: Nothing belongs to me except my original character and idea; everything else belongs to Christopher Nolan and his great team of writers and producers. I make no money from this. 

**Author's Note: Hello, Lovelies! How are you? I am fine. I present to you and new and improved (I hope) "Haunted People". Please tell me what you think if you can be bothered logging in. Thanks for all your support and enjoy! Xoxo**

It's been at least two years since I've left Gotham.

I never wanted to come back but Abigail, my sister, needed me. She got in deep with the Gotham underground scene and tonight I was picking her up from the hospital.

God, I hate hospitals! I hate that old smell, those stupid vending machines, but I fucking hate walking down those white hallways, and you don't know what the hell to expect when you finally find that numbered door and open it.

This was the third time I was in a hospital: When I was visiting my parents after they had the car crash, when my fiancé was attacked and now when my sister was admitted. I hated hospitals most of all because of the fact that my parents and fiancé both died in one.

I sighed and finally found Abi's room and walked in. When I saw her I was shocked; she was beautiful and healthy last time I saw her, now most of her beauty was gone and she was extremely unhealthy. What happened to that Cherub who kept smiling all the time?

She looked at me with her blue eyes and smiled weakly. "Oh, hi, Beth."

I smiled back at her and sat in the chair beside her bed. "Hey, kiddo, how are you feeling?"

"Better, you? You look so different," she said, sounding raspy and excited.

I frowned and looked down at myself; I was wearing a cream trench coat, a 'Beatles' graphic T-Shirt, black jeans and bright, blue ankle boots. "Thanks. You look different, too, my sweet."

She rolled her eyes painfully. "Obviously I look the way a junkie should."

"Fuck that 'junkie' shit, you're clean now, babe…aren't you?"

She looked sad and then nodded. "Yeah, I reckon. I'm so sorry you had to come back here. Shoulda moved away when you did."

I got off my chair and cupped her face in my hands. "Honey, you do realise you're my only living relative, right? I came back because I love you. Tomorrow, I can take you to my apartment so, please, don't cry now."

I sat back on the chair and she looked at me still sad. "Do you hate me for what I've done? Do you think me any different now?"

I tsked. "Oh, honey, you just fell in with the wrong crowd. I only care about what you can do _now_ to get your life back on track, you understand?"

"Visiting hours are over for Miss. Snow," I heard a nurse say from behind me.

"Sorry, kid, I gotta go," I said getting up.

"I wish I had an apartment right in the middle of Gotham to go to," she said, smiling.

"Yeah, yeah, well you get a job like mine and you'll get perks… I'll seeya tomorrow," I said and walked out of the room and to the carpark, where my dark blue Mustang was waiting for me.

I wasn't looking forward to going to the apartment because it made me think about how all of Justin's stuff would be there. Justin was my soul mate without a doubt; he was my neighbour and friend since I was fourteen and had been my boyfriend since I was fifteen. He asked me to marry him the night he died.

Shortly after his death I travelled all over the world, to let him go I suppose, and finally I came back and settled in Chicago two weeks ago. Then a nurse at Gotham General called me and told me what happened to Abigail; she had become an eighteen-year-old prostitute who had an overdose.

I got to my new apartment complex and parked my car in the communal garage. I used my key-card to unlock the door and went up to my room with my luggage in hand. I unlocked the door, but hesitated as to going inside.

I sighed, bit the bullet and opened the door. I turned on the lights and looked around, looking at the cardboard boxes I knew were full of clothes and photos. I came into the bedroom and dropped my stuff on the floor then fell on the bed in exhaustion. I lay on that bed for about a minute and then I saw something on the bedside table: it was a photo of Justin and me together. I sighed and thought about him. Was it funny that I still wore the engagement ring he slipped on my finger that night?

My cell phone vibrated in my pocket and I knew who it was before I even saw caller I.D. "Good evening, Lucius."

"Good evening to you, too, Bethany. Welcome back to Gotham," he said in his usual smooth voice.

"Thanks, and thanks for the apartment as well. I can tell you put it together for me—should I tell Bruce Wayne you're quitting your job and becoming an interior decorator now?" I asked, sitting up.

He laughed on the other end of the phone. "I would like to, but I know when I shouldn't quit my day job. Mr Wayne has asked to meet you the day after tomorrow."

"Well, give me the details, Lu."

There was a hesitation from him. "Nine-thirty at night; there's going to be a fundraiser at Wayne Tower, Formal attire, of course."

"Formal! No way, Lucius, I can't," I told him, trying my best not to have a minor panic attack.

"You have to come, Bethany," he sighed, as if there was nothing he could do about it. "Don't worry, I'll be there and I've already bought your dress."

"You think I can handle it? Be honest."

"I know you can and you'll like it, too. I'll send a car over for you that night to pick you up, and the dress is in the closet with the jewellery and shoes," he said and then quickly added: "Oh, you also have a hair and make-up appointment at five-thirty the same day, there'll be a car for that, too. Goodnight!" He hung up before I could protest.

"Fuck that," I said and tossed my phone to my side…

Lucius and I met one afternoon in New York City straight after I left Gotham, where we were both on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum, and I bumped into him. It was a strong enough bump to knock the paper I had drawn on out of my hands, and so he picked them up for me, but kept staring at them. The armour exhibit had made me think up what new age armour would look like, and so I drew my ideas down. It was stupid really, but I was offered a job to start designing more armour and weapons if I could. Two months later I realised I was designing for the famous Batman…

After a few minutes of touching and smelling Justin's clothes in the boxes, I brushed my teeth, changed into my pyjamas (a sloppy Joe and some leggings) and crawled into bed, just wanting to get warm and sleep…

I woke up the next morning very late and not really wanting to get out and do anything. Then I remembered Abi and practically jumped into the shower. I changed into black tights, a dark blue, denim pencil skirt that reached just below my knees, a T-Shirt with the movie poster of "Jaws" on it and black ankle boots with a small heel.

I locked the apartment, putting on my black leather bomber jacket before I left went shopping, buying groceries for me and Abi and then I drove at 3:30pm to the hospital to pick Abi up. I helped her into my car and put her stuff in the trunk, then came back to my apartment. She felt tired so I helped her into the guest bed and let her sleep and then I fell back asleep as well.

It was dark outside when I woke up and looked to be freezing. Abigail had been so quiet, God, she must have been so tired. I went to check on her and see if she needed anything and then I would make a fast dinner for us.

When I got to the bedroom, Abi was gone. I saw a note she had written on some scrap paper, it read: _'Sorry, B. Owe Russians 6k, need to work it off or they'll find and kill me. A'_

I huffed in annoyance and then I raced around my apartment to get my car keys then then left. In these types of situations, a person would usually call the police. Too bad the police in Gotham were corrupt.

I tried obeying the speed limit, but I went at least seven miles over. I stopped at various ATMs to withdraw six thousand dollars in large bills (it took a while, too) and stuffed it in my bag. I knew of a night club that the Russian mob owned, maybe she would be in the dark alleyway beside it to be clichéd. I parked my car a little ways away and then ran along the street and stopped at the mouth of the alley. There were five huge security-type guys there and they each gave me the Eye as I walked down. I hated to admit it, but I was scared. Up ahead I saw dealers and junkies doing their thing, among the junkies I saw my sister.

"Abi!" I called and ran towards her, but I was almost immediately stopped by 'guards'. I struggled and caused enough commotion to make the ring leader come over. The other dealers and junkies scurried back into the night club; the loud House music's bass making a buzzing sound.

"What you doin' here, sweet cakes?" He asked, inhaling and exhaling smoke from his cigarette. He was around his mid 40's with oily, black hair and a stubble beard with a thick Russian accent.

The guards patted me down then let me go and I stood there, with everyone watching me silently. "I'm here to take my sister home, then I'm leaving," I told him, taking confidence in my words.

The leader laughed, looked at Abi and then back at me. "Your sister owes us _mah-ney_!"

"And I have that money!" I said, throwing the cash at his feet. "Six grand, all there."

He picked it up and flipped through the wad of money, quickly inspecting the inside bills. He looked at me, then Abi and smiled at her. "Looks like someone had paid your debt, Little One," he said and motioned the security to release her and brought her beside me.

"Beth, I'm so sorry!" Abi whispered frantically to me.

"Apologise later, now we go." We turned round and began to walk away, giving death stares to the guards, then the Russian called behind us.

"Wait!"

We stopped and turned around to see what the hell he could want now. I saw him look me up and down, then his eyes rested upon my hand. Curious to see what he was staring at, I looked down at my hand too. I saw my diamond ring, I tried to hide by bringing my hand up to my chest, but it was far too late for that. Damn it, why the fuck didn't I take it off?

"Such a beautiful ring. An antique, I can tell. My girlfriend wants a ring just like that. Give me that ring."

I frowned. "No! I gave you the money _she_ owed, but this is _mine_. Buy your own ring!"

The Russian sighed and nodded to the guards. I knew what was happening, so I tried to make a dash for it with Abi, but it was too late. I struggled but there were three tall and strong Russian dudes holding me, so of course it was of no real use. The Russian came up to me and was about to take the ring when five gunshots went off.

The men holding me fell to the ground and I whimpered with fear, even though I was not the one who was shot. What the hell just happened? I couldn't move and I heard Abi crying, as the two men holding her fell too and she came running into my arms. I didn't want to look behind me and my heart was well over one hundred and fifty beats per minute.

"What-_uh _is going on here?"

There was a voice around five meters behind me. The voice was male, nasally and guttural—definitely American, not Russian.

"Nothing, Boss!" The Russian shouted and I could tell he was afraid.

I heard the man sigh and shoot the Russian dead. "Don't _lie_ to me," I heard the man behind us breathing, but he did not say anything for several moments.

Abi started to cry and I felt her tears run down my neck. "Shh, Abi. Come on, it's gonna be okay," I lied; I really didn't know if it was gonna be okay or not. I turned around, keeping Abi close, and slowly started to walk to the exit of the alley.

"_Where-uh_ do you think you're going?"

I stopped dead in my tracks and tried to find the man, but there was just darkness. "Hey, whoever you are, don't shoot us; we aren't your enemy," I paused, only to listen to silence. I decided to speak again. "Thank-you for helping us."

"Oh, I _helped_ you because my guys weren't doing their jobs. Being greedy is not ac-_cep-_table." My legs began shaking uncontrollably. He must have seen this and cracked up laughing, his laugh sending shivers down my spine.

"You're _scared_ of li'l old _me_?" He laughed again then, he stopped suddenly, as if he came to a sudden realisation. "Wait, tell me your name."

"Beth Snow," I told the shadows.

There was an eerily silence for at least a minute. "Beth Snow...?" He whispered something I couldn't hear.

I had enough bullshit for one night. "Look, my sister and I just want to go home. I didn't come here to have people being killed; I just wanted my sister. I don't know who you are, but you're so lucky I can't identify you. Now, because of you, I have to go to Gotham PD and report this, even though I don't want to. But, um…_thanks_ again for all your help, though."

"Don't thank me," was all I could hear then there was no sound at all.

I called out to him. "Are you there?" I waited for half a minute in the cold with no words. Finally, I realised he was gone and that he couldn't hurt us.

I turned to Abigail and said: "Okay, let's go." We quickly ran out of the alleyway and down the street to my car.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Beth!" Abi said as she hopped in the passenger seat.

I turned on the engine and ripped out of there as fast as I could. "Goddammit, Abi! You risked your life for some empty threat! Fuck! We are so lucky that guy didn't kill _us_!"

"I was scared! I said I was sorry, what more do you want?"

I sighed as I turned a corner. "Just promise me you won't leave the apartment without telling me again?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Okay, then. _Gotham PD here we come_."


	2. Chapter 2

"You're saying that this Mystery Man, who shot all of the Russians, did not come out of the shadows at all and you can't make an I.D?"

"Yes, I said that didn't I? Look, detective, I'm not trying to play games with you; I'm just telling you what happened on the streets tonight. We did not see this guy at all, he was standing behind us the whole time and, even when we turned around, we still couldn't see him." I felt uncomfortable around this detective and constantly shifted in my chair. I looked at Abigail, who looked like she was on trial for murder.

"I don't believe that you couldn't see him! Just tell me who he is!" The detective yelled and the whole precinct turned and looked at him and me.

I raised my eyebrows at him, totally over this whole thing. "Why are you pushing this so much? I told you I didn't see anything and this whole intimidation thing you're doing, cannot magically make me say stuff that didn't happen. I've got your badge number, bucko."

A middle aged man wearing glasses and a suit with a trench coat came over and motioned to the detective to leave. "Sorry about him, he's a bit…" The man sighed. "Well, anyway, I'm Commissioner Gordon. So tell me what happened to you two tonight?" I told him about everything and he actually believed us about it.

He seemed deep in thought. "About this man, was there anything that stood out? Is there anything you could use to identify him? The way he talked, accents, stuff that made him different?"

"Well, he had a laugh and his voice would one second be high pitch, but then another second guttural. His voice and laugh were very…odd to say the least," I told him.

"Can you tell me about his laugh?"

I sighed. "Um, I don't really have anything to compare it with, but it was really high pitched and weird, like a weasel on helium."

He smiled at that last bit. "I don't want you girls to worry about this, so I'll investigate and see what we can find. You just go home and get some sleep, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," I stood up and helped Abi out of her seat. "Thanks, Mr Gordon."

I left the station after that and drove back to my apartment. Abi was too tired to eat, but I promised her we would go out for breakfast in the morning. So with Abi asleep, I had a hot shower and changed into an oversized men's graphic 'The Clash' T-Shirt with just a pair of white underwear and purple polka dot bed socks. I tried to sleep, but I couldn't get the man's laugh out of my mind and it was really freaking me out.

Since I couldn't sleep, I went into the lounge and watched 'East of Eden' til I was tired. When it was over, I just could not be bothered taking it out of the DVD player, so I just closed my eyes while laying on the couch listening to my iPod—which I had on the coffee table—and after a while I fell asleep.

**JOKER'S POV **

_Bethany…_

She's back…in _Gotham_. I thought she died or had disappeared off the face of the Earth—at least that's what I kept telling myself—but here she was. And at the worst time possible.

I shrunk back into the shadows and stayed as quiet as a little mouse. She was really angry and I liked it, but she was afraid—not of me—but of something. I couldn't place my finger on it.

"Are you there?" She called, looking around_ aimlessly_ into the darkness.

Still, I was quiet.

I looked at her; the Girl had grown up so much these last years. She was tall, lean, had a long torso and long legs, kinda like one of those models ya see on TV. Sizing her up, I'd say she was around five foot eight, five foot nine now…I could almost count the inches on her body. Her brown hair was so long and it framed her face nicely. But still she was so young! How old now, nineteen or something? _Tsk_, she shouldn't have come out here with just her sister…Bad Girl, bad, bad, _bad_!

Why didn't she just take off the darn ring and give it to them! The Boy's ring was useless anyway. They could have killed her, you know; shoot her, take the ring and kill her sister…though, if she was _anyone_ _else_, _I_ would have just cut off her finger and taken the ring, but yeah, that's what _I'd_ do. What made her just _defy_ them like that? _Anyone_ would have still given over the ring!

Something was not…hmm, well, not quite _right _with her—I mean, there's nothing _wrong_ with her, but there's something there, something…inside of her that is _way_ different to other people. She's always been _that_ way, though, as I remember.

Then all of a sudden, the fear subsided, and she seemed to just _glow_ with…confidence, I suppose. I had never seen her or any other person do that…ever. It was startling and beautiful at the same time. Somehow I would have to find out more about her now and get inside that _comp-li-cated_ little head of hers….I _needed___to get inside her head once again.

"Okay, let's go," she told her sister and they held hands as they ran down the alley way.

I waited a three seconds after them, before I stepped out of the shadows. I took my _walkie-talkie_ out of my pocket and contacted the guy I had outside the alley to come to me.

"Yuppy, you see the girls coming out of the alley? Follow them; tell me where they go—other than the police station, of _course-uh_."

There was a crackling over the radio, but he responded. "Sure, Boss."

"Tell me the _moment_ they get home_._"

"Yes, Boss," he said again and then there was silence.

This was going to be… _interesting_…

I was waiting next to a punk-kid driver of mine—seriously, this _kid _had fear written all over him—for two and a half hours until, _finally_, I had some news.

"One-sixteen Dari Street, apartment three; that's where those girls live, Boss."

"Good job, _Yuppy_," I smiled and turned to the kid. "You got that, _didn't you_? _Drive-uh_."

I was excited; my favourite challenge awaited. Tonight, I was going to find out what that girl had been doing since I saw her, I mean, I _had_ to. _Why_ did it have to be Beth? If it was some other girl I would have killed her and I wouldn't be driving to her house. Hopefully, I could kill her soon…If not, then…_hmm, _what to dothen?

The kid drove for around eight minutes and then we finally pulled up beside a block of apartments. Even before the kid turned off the engine, I was out of the car. The kid was about to get out too, but I walked onto the sidewalk and stuck my head in the open window. "Youstay in the _car-uh_, see?"

He nodded quickly and put his seatbelt back on, I looked at the third floor windows; no lights were on, but there was the unmistakeable glow of a TV flashing on the glass. _Someone_ was still up past their bedtime.

I 'unlocked' the door of the apartment building and it opened; easy as _pie._ For the Gotham, this was a _great_ apartment block. The excitement was absolutely…_building_ up inside of me, well, that's what my legs were saying anyway, as I clicked my heels together and practically danced up the first three flights of stairs…and then I saw her door.

Ooh, I got the tingles _real_ bad as I tried to open her door! It was locked, of course, especially after tonight, she would have checked if she locked it….hmm, at least _three_ times? _Ha-hee-ho-har-har!_ There was no way to open the _door _without her being woke-_up_ or knowing I was _there_. So, I went back outside—where that kid was waiting and looking _up_ and _down_ the street as if he thought we were going to get caught. I smiled at him and he flinched in his seat, while I _ever so_ _carefully_ pulled down the fire escape and climbed up to her window. I felt like my stomach was going to burst open and squirt blood and guts everywhere because it was getting so exhilarating. I hoped she was still awake—everything would be so much more fun if she was awake—but then, again, _maybe _not.

I reached out and looked into her apartment, which was only lit up by the TV, but I could still see a nice kitchen, and half of the lounge room and the start of a hallway. I found the window to be unlocked and so I did what any normal person would do: open it. I was wary not to be so loud when I came in, so I put my feet down _lightly_ on the timber flooring and looked around the kitchen. Ah, the simple refrigerator! There were the usual vegetables, fruits and meat and also a large supply of candy. This girl was just as I'd remembered!

I found that the kitchen led to a hallway and _in_ that hallway, there was a bathroom, bedroom where her sister was sleeping—I would have gone in there if I was actually _interested_ in her, but I wasn't. After a few more steps, I found her bedroom. It was clean and the white bed sheets were made, but very messily. On the bedside table there was a folder. _Excitedly_, I jumped onto the bed—to test for squeaks of_ course_—and flipped through it. There she was…and there _he_ was:the _Boy_ who had everything.

The photos started when she was fourteen and stopped when she was seventeen. There were photos of her and the _Boy_ being all _chipper _and _nice_, but there were ones of just her on her own, like the one I found to be my favourite, her naked in a bubble bath. She had her hair up in a bun and the bubbles just covered her _naughty_ bits and a playful smile on her face. The funniest thing about this picture was the fact that she was flipping the bird to the photographer (most likely the _Boy_). Alright, I admit I giggled a bit…fine, maybe _a lot_, but it was funny! The girl in the photos was the girl I remember leaving.

In a different circumstance, I would have taken the picture, but then she would know I was there and it would ruin the surprise I was starting to plan in my head and I could _not _have _that_.

The photo album was boring me, so I went to her wardrobe and, _my-my-my_, what a pretty black dress she had in there. On it was the note: _'See you at 9:30—Lu'_ and so I made a mental note to explore _that_ further. Apart from that she still had _his_ clothes in there…well, the Boy did have no taste _at all_.

Moving _on_ from there, I checked the bathrooms—her en suite and the normal one, which had nothing _exciting_ in them.

I walked around the hallway and then I went to the lounge room, where the TV was playing the menu for _East of Eden_ over and over again. I crept a _little _closer to the couch and peered down at the _little sleeping girl_ I came here to see.

_Beth_, short for Bethany. Hmmm, I'd always preferred Beth…it always sounded _somehow_ better. She was lying on her stomach with her head propped up on the armrest and she was listening to her iPod whist sleeping. Goosebumps covered my body when I saw her and I wanted to _touch_ her, but she'd wake up and then all the _fun_ would be _over_.

I smiled, realising I had done this many times before. I'd get out of my prison at night and watch her sleep, thinking about touching her. I had never in my life wanted something so _bad_, but she seemed so _unattainable_—now and _then_. I wanted her to be mine, just thinking about her _belonging_ to me made me feel…_electrified_. I started to imagine touching her whenever I wanted to, talking to her whenever I wanted to and seeing her whenever I wanted to because she was _mine_. If she was _mine_, I'd be able to wake her up right now and talk to her, maybe even get to _first base_?

I just _stared_ at her for a moment or two. She had never been like other gals and when _he_ died I finally had enough brains to make my move and claim her, but she had already left Gotham and there was no way to find out where she was. Since then I'd kept her in the back of my mind, but seeing her again made her come right to the front.

She'd become _haunted_ by something, I could see it in her eyes in the alley. It is—well, it is extremely rare to find someone_ truly_ 'haunted' in this world anymore…_what are they, a dying breed_? But, the _sixty-five thousand dollar _question _was_: what made her become _haunted_? Definitely something to do with the Boy, _no doubt_.

Though, it makes me realise that I just cannot _pass up_ this opportunity to _scare_ a haunted person, no, _no_! Time for a little _mind-game_, I think.

I _carefully_ turned off the TV and DVD player. I went all over her house and moved things a little to the right or left, like her toothbrush and I even turned the toilet paper to pull down a different way. The psychologists used to do this to me in Arkham, but I found out about it, and let me tell you, it drove me a little _crazier_ than usual. Everything was set, but I didn't want to leave. No way did I want to leave after I saw her, but I had to.

I looked down at the girl in front of me, turned and went back out through the window and into the van. As I drove away, I thought about her and laughed.

Oh, Beth Snow…_I'll_ be seeing _you. _


	3. Chapter 3

My iPod was dead in the morning when I awoke, but it wasn't surprising. The TV and DVD player were both turned off, but maybe I must have done that. I got up off the couch and went to check on Abi, but as soon as I was fully awake, and no longer seeing stars and lights from getting up, I stopped in my tracks.

I slowly looked at the bag I had on the left side of the hallway, near the door of my bedroom, which was now on the right side of the hallway. Weird, but I brushed it off as just my imagination. I went into the bathroom and I noticed the toilet paper was pulling down backwards, which is weird again because I like it forward and have it that way. The kitchen had the all the coffee mugs on the left side and all the teas and hot chocolate sachets on the right; it's usually the other way. I went all over the house and saw many things just…different.

I went to Abi and woke her up. "Hey, Abi, did you move things in the house? Like, maybe you were sleep walking or something?"

Abi looked at me with tired eyes. "What are you talking about? I haven't moved anything and I am not intending to move anything any time soon."

"Shit, maybe there was someone in the house? It's just that a lot of things in the house have been moved around. If it wasn't you or me, then it could have been someone that broke into the house…but nothing's missing." I was now extremely suspicious of everyone and everything.

She got up and hugged me. "Honey, if nothing is missing, then why would a person want to move everything around? Maybe nothing has been moved around; maybe it's your imagination? Think about it."

I put my hands on my hips. "I am thinking about it, but why would I be imagining things?"

"Trauma, maybe? I mean, what we went through last night, it might have set off a thingy in your brain that makes you imagine things. What's more likely: a thief that goes to the trouble of breaking into your house and not steal anything or you being traumatised by last night and your imagination running wild?"

Damn, Abi sounded right, but I still wasn't sure. I just pretended she was right. "Hey, you're right. Sorry if I scared you or anything."

"It's alright…now, what about that awesome breakfast you promised me?"

I smiled. "Get dressed first and we'll go out and get it."

**Joker's POV **

I couldn't even _sleep_; that's how much she was in my _system_. As soon as I was _'home'_, I couldn't rest there at _all_. No _sleep_…no _food_…nothing else to think about anymore, except for _her_. I thought about _why_ I couldn't rest, and then it _hit_ me: I _had_ to know _where_ she was and _how_ she was every second of the _day_. I needed her _beside_ me, her body _on_ me and me with her _always_.

So, thinking those _things_, I headed back to her apartment when she left in the morning with her sister, taking _tinnie-tiny_ cameras and _microphones_ to place around her house. I opened her window _again_ and went into her bedroom to put the first camera on her headboard. I put a _camera_ and _microphone_ everywhere _except_ the bathroom. When my work was _done_, I looked around once more and knew I had to _leave_. I didn't like leaving, but at least now I could see her _whenever_ I wanted to.

When I was back at my place, I turned on the TVs that received the signals from the cameras and turned on the speakers for the microphones. All that was left to do was to turn on the computer that connected to her phone and wait for her to come back.

I waited and waited and _waited_…until she came back at four-thirty in the afternoon. _She_ was smiling and carrying paper bags printed with the logo of a lingerie company, which made _me_ smile. The two sisters sat down on the couch Beth slept on the night before and began to _chat_.

She sighed. "Is Gotham looking cleaner now, or is it just me?"

"Well, since you've been away you've missed Batman."

At that she chuckled. "No, I haven't. I reckon I have a fair idea about him and what he does."

"Got it. Anyway, what have I missed about you? What do you do exactly?"

"I work for Wayne Enterprises."

The sister sighed. "Yeah, I know that, but what do you do? It must be something big for you to get an apartment like this."

I watched her smile slyly. "Product design. Now enough about me, I have to get changed for my 'beauty appointment'."

'_Beauty appointment'_? That did not sound like _her_ at all. I thought back to a time where she enjoyed dressing up and could recall _none_.

I was _relieved_ when the sister asked the question I wanted answered _myself_. "What for? You hate doing girly things."

"I have this fundraiser thing to attend at Wayne Tower tonight, so I have to look pretty. It's the first time I'll be meeting Bruce Wayne."

What a perfect _co-in-cidence_! _I_ had planned to be at Wayne Tower tonight, too.

"Oh, my God, Bruce Wayne? You're meeting Bruce Wayne? No way, I'll go, I'll pretend to be you!"

"No, it's for business. I really have to do it," she said and left the room.

I followed her to her bedroom with my cameras and watched her take off her blouse and walk around with just her bra and jeans on until she found a zip-up jacket to wear. It made me think of old times when I used to watch her undress, but back then I wasn't…_indecent_ enough to see her fully naked. It was almost like seeing her with nothing on at all was going to ruin a big mystery, one which I intended to _savour_.

She looked out the window and walked quickly out of her room and back to the living room. The girl took her purse and gave a warning to her sister. "The car's out there. Do not open this door for _anyone_. Lock it after me and don't worry I've got a key to unlock it when I come back."

"I'm not a child, you know. Have fun!"

Just before she exited, she rolled her eyes. "_Yeah, that will surely happen_!"

I didn't have time to follow her as I had my own _appointments_ to keep, and I'd see her later. It would be like a _surprise_ for me; I would show up at the _fund_raiser and find her in the crowd, or see if I could recognise her all _dolled_ up. It was a surprise that made me so _excited_ to think about that I leapt out of my seat and felt my heart pump like I'd just had five coffees.

**BETH'S POV **

For two hours they tortured my hair, and for one hour they pampered me with Dior make-up, which actually made me feel pretty. I got home and finally saw the dress for the first time. The dress was a beautiful, long, sleeveless, low scoop necked, black, lacy number that I was dying to put on, along with the crystal flower stud earrings and its matching bracelet. Lucius was mad making me wear this!

Abi gave me a shock when she stood behind me, gaping at what I was wearing. "Can I have your job?"

"Never. But _this_ is ridiculous!" I exclaimed, motioning to my dress.

"You better get to keep that dress 'cause I just have to borrow it from you."

"Sure, sure. I gotta hurry; the traffic's started building up and I found out the car will be her in," I paused and checked the nearest clock. "Six minutes!"

I panicked a little and hurriedly put the jewellery and shoes on while Abi tried to calm me down.

Before I left, I tried giving her the same warning I did before. "Remember, do not—"

"Open the door for anyone? Got it, now go! Have fun and don' be afraid to mingle!" She called just as I closed and locked the door.

The traffic was heavy but I got there in time. I tried to blend in with all the other attendees and was so nervous waiting around trying to find Lucius in the crowd of people. As I walked around the room holding onto a champagne glass, biding my time, I noticed I got a lot of stares from men and it made me feel a bit weird. I decided to wait around in the corner of the room for half an hour and then Bruce Wayne arrived in a helicopter with three models in tow. The first thing I noticed about him was his size; his height, build and, for some reason was his neck size, was very familiar to me and it only took an instant to realise how.

"I'm sorry that I'm late. I'm glad to see that you all got started without me. Now," he said, letting the models go and searched though the crowd. "Where is Harvey? Where—Harvey Dent.; the man of the hour. Where's Rachel Dawes? She is my oldest friend. Come here," he asked her and the woman in question came a little closer.

"You know," he continued. "When Rachel first told me that she was dating Harvey Dent, I had one thing to say: 'The guy from those God-awful campaign commercials?' 'I believe in Harvey Dent'? Yeah, nice slogan, Harvey. But it got Rachel's attention, and then I started to pay attention to Harvey and all that he's been doing as our new D.A , and you know what? I believe in Harvey Dent. I believe that on his watch, Gotham can feel a little safer, a little more optimistic. Look at this face; this is the face of Gotham's bright future. To Harvey Dent," he proposed. "Let's hear it for him."

The whole place applauded Harvey Dent, but not me. I applauded Bruce Wayne, who I watched take the whole crowd into the palm of his hand. It was amazing to witness, special even. After the crowd got back to mingling and Bruce disappeared outside then Rachel Dawes came and spoke with him for a while.

I waited for Lucius and was beginning to get worried. He knew I didn't like big crowds and chit-chat with strangers, so why would he do this to me? I slowly walked to the door leading to the balcony and after Harvey Dent came and took Rachel back inside, I went outside to speak to Bruce Wayne.

"Excuse me," I said hesitantly as I walked up to him.

Mr Wayne turned and faced me. "Yes?"

"You don't know me, but I work for you. I'm Beth Snow; Lucius' assistant?"

His eyes became immediately wide and he shook my hand. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't recognise you. Lucius didn't tell me you were so young. I'm very pleased to meet you finally, Miss Snow."

"You, too, Mr Wayne. I just wanted to know if Lu was going to be here. I can't find him anywhere…"

"Lucius cancelled on this just an hour beforehand," he replied.

I stamped my foot. "Damn him! He did this to me on purpose then. This is his sick way of telling me to be more social, I bet."

"Lucius works in mysterious ways," he countered and then looked me over. "How old are you anyway?"

"Nineteen."

His mouth gaped open for a second. "Nineteen? I did not expect that; you look…I don't know—twenty-one?"

"Not much difference in looks from nineteen to twenty-one, Mr Wayne."

"Well, since you are nineteen, shouldn't you be more into socialising than all of the people here?"

I smirked. "That's the stereotype my generation gets. Socialising annoys me. People annoy me."

"You don't seem too annoyed with me."

"I can't really afford to show my annoyance to my boss," I said and chuckled. "Just kidding. You seem like a loner, I'm a loner, and loners somehow are great at being loners together. Also, this is not socialising; this is business. And it's the only reason I came here tonight; to meet you, my employer."

"Well, let me clear up all our business here and then you can go home, since I can tell you want to," he smiled. "First off, thank-you for coming out of your comfort zone and taking the time to meet me. Second, I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate all you have contributed to the Applied Sciences division of Wayne Enterprises."

"Thanks, but, wow, you know how rehearsed that sounded?"

He laughed. "I have a tendency to sound that way. It becomes almost robotic when you've had to do speeches all your life."

"Well, the Harvey Dent speech back there was great. You have so much control over people when you speak."

"Obviously not over you, though."

"No, not me. I can hear it in people's voices, and it so transparent that I can't take it seriously," I shrugged and tossed the champagne still in my glass over the edge.

"Do you like your job, Beth?" He asked and seemed quite serious.

"I like designing stuff for you-know-who, it's cool."

"Yeah…"he paused and took a moment to look back into my eyes. "I bet he's thankful."

"You don't seem very thankful now."

Mr Wayne shook his head. "I was speaking about him just then, saying _he's_ thankful."

"Yeah, I had realised."

It took a moment for it to sink in. "Lucius tell you?"

"No, I just know my model's size is all. Not gonna snitch, don't worry…" I trailed off when I heard sirens in the distance. "What the hell is going on in Gotham tonight?"

Straight away Bruce Wayne ripped out a small scanner and listened to it then looked up at me with horror. "The Joker's coming for Dent," he said and grabbed my arm to lead me back inside. "It's too late to leave now, but get back inside and stay quiet—surround yourself with a group."

I nodded and did as he asked, walking back into the room and staying close to a large cluster of women. I was terrified and hated the fact that I knew what was about to happen and they didn't.

I watched the elevator door 'ping' open and a group of masked men carrying guns step out. Leading these men was a man in a purple suit wearing clown make-up, who also carried a gun, but seemed more terrifying than the rest. The leader shot a round into the ceiling to announce his entrance.

"G_oo_d evening, ladies and gentle_men_," he said, walking around in the space the crowd had created for him, looking all around him. "We are tonight's…_entertainment_. I only have one question: where is_ Harvey Dent_?"

I recognised his voice in an instant. It was him; the man from last night.

No one answered him, and he rolled his eyes up into his head with annoyance. He walked back, pointing his gun at random people in the crowd, asking: "Do you know where Harvey is? Do you know _who_ he is?"

He continued in this fashion and even threatened an older gentlemen with a knife until Rachel put herself in the middle of it. Batman arrived in time to kick a little ass, but had to save Rachel once she had been dropped out the window, which was Bruce's fault since he used a shitty choice of words.

Once Batman was gone, the Joker had to make a quick escape. I watched him scan the room, his eyes and head moving wildly about until he stopped and looked straight at me.

The cluster of women moved when they saw him advancing, but I stayed still, trying to 'play-dead' so to speak. He stood right in front of me, smiled, then without a word grabbed my hand and dragged me to the elevator, kicking his downed men to consciousness on the way. I followed him without struggling; too shocked, I suppose, to think about what would happen next and what would happen to me.

He and I went into the elevator first, standing at the back, and then the men followed with their guns. I gasped when his left arm curled around my waist to hold me beside him, but I didn't know exactly how to fight him or if I even could with all the guns around me. He stared down at me and, although his lips did not curl, his eyes held a smile that made me nervous.

"I remember you from last night," I said quietly.

He stroked my arm. "And here I was thinking you _wouldn't_."

"I didn't know you were…_you_. What are you doing with me?"

"I just need to walk out of here without _the_ _Bat_ trying to stop me," he answered and we were walking out of the elevator and into the lobby.

I had to run in my heels when he was pulling me along across the marble floor, and as soon as I was out the door I rolled my ankle, but I managed to hop-limp my way into the van that pulled up to the curb. He pushed me into the back and I sat beside him as the other men piled into the back with us, but kept their distance from both of us. When the van sped away from the scene, he finally took a deep breath in and looked at me.

"Where was _Dent_ anyway?" He asked, picking up my legs and placing them across his lap.

"He hid before you came," I told him because he couldn't do anything about it now, but I was more curious about why he was holding my legs. "What are you doing?"

He didn't respond and instead began lifting the hem of my dress to my knees, then took off the high heel from my injured foot. He moved my foot up in dorsiflexion and I winced but he shook his head. "Always had weak ankles, didn't you? Why'd you wear heels tonight? You don't like stilettos, Beth, and you're already tall enough."

"Don't presume what I do and don't like, sir."

"Well, _do_ you like stilettos?" He asked, and I didn't answer. "That's what I thought. You looked pretty tonight; you look great in that dress—but then again you've always looked good in black."

"Where are you taking me? Actually why did you take _me_ hostage, more importantly? It kinda contradicts what you did for me yesterday."

He rubbed my legs and looked right at me, not caring who else was watching. "Home, and because you were the easiest potential hostage there."

"Stop touching me," I snapped and when he stopped I continued. "Easiest hostage? Why, because I was a woman alone?"

"_Don't get all feminist on me, toots_. You were easiest because I knew you'd be compliant," he explained with a smug smile.

"Yeah, you knew I wouldn't fight back against guns! Wow, you feel strong and manly knowing that I didn't have a gun or back up to fight you off?"

At that he reached into his jacket pocket and produced a small handgun. "Here's your chance," he said and passed it into my hands. "Shoot me. Do what I did to you and get one up on me."

"No. I only complained about the fairness of the situation, not that I wanted to actually shoot you," I replied.

"You should. If you don't, people will die. Is my life worth, say, a hundred others?"

"Obviously not," I said honestly and further explained myself. "But if you die by my hand right now, you can't guarantee that these men wouldn't kill me after, can you?"

"Unfortunately not."

"Well, then it's settled that you and I won't kill each other tonight," I concluded and handed the gun back to him. "Can you please let me go now?"

"Soon, don't worry," he said and not even a minute later, the van stopped and he and I got out.

This was my street, my apartment building…"How did you know where I lived?"

"Why so curious tonight, Beth?" he asked, holding me close, supporting my weight as he helped me into the building.

"No! Leave me, okay?" I yelled, trying to take his hands off me, but I couldn't as we got to the elevator.

He remained silent until we got to the front door of my apartment, which was where I turned to him and saw him looking like he was expecting something. "You're not coming in, if that's what you're think—"

He stopped me by placing a gloved finger on my lips. I saw his dark eyes look me over and stare back into mine until, eventually, he moved his hand down my cheek, stroking it for a moment.

I didn't have a chance to ask why he did that before he walked away, down the stairs and out of the building. I was stunned and after a minute, I opened the door and in my apartment found Abi waiting by the TV for me.

"Oh, my God, Beth! I was watching TV and it said that the Joker forced his way into Wayne Tower and took a hostage—I was just so worried! Where have you been?"

"I was talking with police, they wanted to speak with everybody. Don't worry, I'm fine though," I lied and went to my en suite bathroom.

I locked the door behind me and stood in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection. I didn't tell Abi everything because it was truly unbelievable. How could I tell her that the Joker knew where we lived and, in some disturbing way, manage to attach himself to me?

I at least had to call Lucius and tell him that I was OK and tell Batman that I was fine, too. As I was taking off my shoe while sitting on the edge of the bathtub, I dialled Lu and he picked up straight away.

"Beth! My God, are you hurt? Where are you right now? Is he listening in?"

"I'm fine, I'm at home and he's not here; he used me to make a clean getaway and then took me home," I sighed. "Shit, I'm not fine, Lu. I need to tell you something; it happened yesterday and I didn't want to tell you because you'd worry."

I went on to explain what happened with the Russians in the alley and waited for his reply. "So he recognised you from yesterday? That's why he chose you?"

"This is where it gets even weirder, Lu. He knew where I lived for goodness sake and—" I stopped and took a breath; no, I wasn't going to tell him about him touching me. "I'm just a little nervous about this is all."

"Meet me tomorrow and we'll discuss it further. I'll ring Mr Wayne and tell him you're safe; do you know how anxious he was about you? You made a big impression on him, and you're his friend now that you know."

I read between the lines of what he was saying. "I'd never tell, Lu, you know that! Even if I was tortured I wouldn't. I'm not a snitch," I finished angrily.

"I know, Beth, I just needed to hear it. I'll see you tomorrow; try and get a goodnight's sleep. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

I unzipped the dress and took it and my phone back to my bedroom. There I grabbed a black singlet and red checked boxer shorts from my drawers and then stumbled to the shower in my en suite. The water was warm and all my troubling thoughts were washed away to think about tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

**JOKER'S POV **

"Who was that chick?"

"Yeah, why'd we drive her home and not kick her out?"

I took a _deep, deep_ breath and turned around to face the _goons, _who thought I could not hear them whispering. "Don't concern yourself with _things_ that aren't any of your business. We will wait here for a while, but I need three of you to get out of the van right now."

Three of them, after looking reluctantly at each other for some time, opened the doors and scattered onto the street, running in all different directions.

I turned to the others that were left with me. "I'm going to wait for the right moment and then you're all going to do what I say _without question_," I explained and then looked at the driver, who was also the _I.T_ guy. "Give me something that taps into all those cameras and mics right now."

He reached around in the glove compartment and pulled out a screen. He fidgeted with it for a while and then handed it to me. I saw the sister glued to the TV and that was fine, but I couldn't find _her_. After checking every camera I realised she was in the bathroom.

As soon as I heard the faint sound of the sound of running water, I knew she was having a shower; I knew it was _time_ to _go_. "It's time_-uh_," I told them, jumping out of the van and I walked right up the steps to her door.

_This_ time, we _were_ gonna use the front door.

I stepped aside, but no one did anything. "Well be _polite_ and _open_ the door, boys—_quietly_."

One clown stepped forward and kneeled down, _picking_ the locks—five seconds on each of the three and then he swung the door open and let me through. The sister saw us immediately and screamed for one second before one of my guys came up and knocked her out.

"Leave her on the couch for the moment_-uh_," I ordered and could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

I was even _more_ excited than the other night as I walked around her house with the clowns behind me. It wasn't time to _stop_ and _smell_ the _roses_, it was _time_ to _act_.

"No one is to make a _single_ noise_-uh_, got that?" I looked over my shoulder and they gave a nod. They were scared dogs, and scared dogs were _obedient_ dogs.

I motioned two men to stand out of sight on either side of the en suite's door while _I_, being in her _bedroom_, grabbed her suitcase and began _filling_ it with clothes from her closet and drawers. It didn't hold much, but I knew _that_, so I brought some bags of my own to fill. Once all the clothes were in the bags, I took her photo album, most of her books and movies and I went to the kitchen and got three bottles; one _red wine_, one _white wine_ and the other _champagne_.

I didn't have time to raid anything else. I heard the water _stop_ and I knew this was _it_ and I got back to her bedroom as _quickly_ as possible. The six clowns I left there were waiting around, _silent_ as ever and I sat down on the edge of the bed, _directly_ opposite the door. I played _charades_ with the clowns by the door, giving them the _idea_ of what I wanted them to do, which _thankfully_ they were smart enough to get.

The wait was _excruciating_. For the first time in my life, I thought I was going to _throw-up _from nerves! I could just make out her _swishing_ the towel around, drying herself and then she sighed and _opened_ the door…

**BETH'S POV **

After my shower, I put on my boxers and singlet and walked out drying my hair with the towel. As soon as I opened the door and naturally took two steps out, my towel dropped as my eyes locked onto a painted face.

Just as I jumped from the shock of the face, I was grabbed by my arms from behind. I struggled against whoever was holding me, but it was no use.

"_Get away from me!_" I screamed at him and I started hyperventilating, so when he came walking calmly up to me with a cloth and pressed it against my nose and mouth, I couldn't help but breathe in the chemical he had on it.

My eyes started closing and I stopped struggling. The last thing I saw was that painted face smiling…

**JOKER'S POV **

She looked _right_ into my eyes and I did the same to her. She was _so_ scared and that made me smile, especially when her breathing was so erratic and she couldn't _stop_ herself breathing in the _Chloroform_.

"What do we do with her now, Boss," one of the clowns holding her asked.

"Put her on the _bed_ for now. _Gently_, boys," I instructed and they did as they were told. "Now, _you_—get a bag and get some stuff from the bathroom for her," I said and he nodded and went to work. "Three of _you_, get the _other_ bags and the other girl and put them in the car then _wait_." They did that too.

I looked down at Beth and knew it would be cold outside, so I looked around and saw a black sweater on the bed. I got the sweater around her neck and her arms through it, but had to lift her for it to be properly on.

I looked her over again for a moment before leaning over her. "Hello, Beth," I whispered, moving her wet hair from her forehead and watching her slightly parted lips…so beautiful.

"Ready, Boss," the clown from the en suite said and I stopped leaning.

"Good. You _two_," I commanded, talking to the leftover clowns, "are going to _carry_ her downstairswithout dropping her and then _you_," back to the toiletries clown, "are going to close the door after us. _Now_, let's move_-uh_."

Driving back to _'my place'_, as I looked at Beth (who had her head resting on my shoulder) sitting beside me, it got me thinking. I was thinking that this was _hardly_ the most _eventful_ night of my life so far, but it was _genuinely_ the most _fun_.


	5. Chapter 5

My eyes opened, but for about four seconds, I didn't really believe they were. I closed my eyes again and reopened them; still darkness. I did it again and I came to terms with the fact that I was in a pitch-black space.

I was lying on my side—with my forearm going numb underneath my head—and the bed I was in was warm and somewhat comfortable, but it wasn't my own.

I lay on my side with a frown on my face, trying to think where I was, until visions of a painted face in my apartment came back to me and I bolted upright in the bed. Looking around, I saw nothing; not one bit of light anywhere, not even my hand.

My head hurt so bad. I couldn't think properly, though somewhere in the my mind, there was still the thought to get out of bed and turn on a light, so maybe then I could think better.

When I started to move my legs to the side, my right leg moved, but my left moved a little and then stopped. I felt something cold around my ankle and then a clanking noise.

_Oh, God, please don't let it be what I think it is… _

I pulled the blanket off my left leg and reached down. I gasped as I felt a locked cuff around my ankle and then I followed the chain in my hands and realised I was restrained to the bed. I sat up straight and my head whipped around, looking everywhere, but seeing nothing.

Then, as quick as lightening, a hand covered my mouth and pushed me back down on the bed, hard. Before I could say or do anything, a familiar voice pierced the darkness. "_Don't_. Don't scream_-uh_, don't _struggle_. Did you _hear_ what I said? Either _nod_… or _shake_… your head. Don't try and talk, now."

I waited, the unmistakeable feel of leather on my lips, too shocked to move or talk, just lying with my arms by my side. I decided to respond when, after two seconds passed, he pressed his hand harder to my lips.

I nodded and he spoke again. "Good girl. I'm going to take my hand away now, so we can, you know, talk_-uh_? Are you going to _scream_?"

I shook my head.

"Are you going to put up a fight?"

I shook my head fiercely.

"_Are you sure_?"

I nodded.

"Okay then," he said and took back his hand. "Do you remember me, Beth?"

"Obviously…" I whispered breathlessly, well, it wasn't really a whisper at all; my voice was much quieter than that but, because it was so silent, he heard me.

"Yes, of course you would. Do you remember last night?"

"Little bits. What happened? Why am I here?"

His voice began to spike with anger. "Let's try and focus on _one_ question at a time, alright?" He said and his voice went back to normal. "What happened last night was this: I _took_ you from your home. _Scary_, huh?" He paused to laugh.

"You've kidnapped me?"

"BINGO! Now, why _are_ you here? That's a fair question. The only answer that _pops_ into my mind is that I took you because you're very…_inter-esting_. You always have been."

I couldn't even put anger into my voice when I spoke next. "What?"

"I just wanna be with you, _is that okay_? I really wanted to talk to you without having to resort to kidnapping, but if I just came knocking at your door, you would do something _drastic_, like call the police and, well, who needs them_-uh_?"

I turned my head to the right where the voice was coming from. "What are you _talking_ about?"

He chuckled. "Let's not worry about that _right now_, instead let me tell you the _rules_ here, okay? Rule one: do _not_ scream. _Screaming_ won't get you anywhere, since there are no nearby buildings and the only people that can hear you are my guys, who would not help you on pain of _death_."

He paused and began to talk more casually. "And screaming wears out your voice and I _need_ you to talk, Beth. Rule _two_: if I ask you to do something, you do it, no matter what it is. Rule _three_: when I ask you some questions, answer them—_truthfully_. Anymore _questions_ before I leave you?"

"Where am I?"

Joker hesitated. "You're in a _room_, that's _all_ you need to know. Wait a second, I'll _show_ you."

I heard footsteps leading away from the bed and a door open and close. My eyes burned when a bright fluorescent light switched on above me and I pressed my forearm across my eyes. Slowly, I got used to the light and looked at my surroundings.

I was in the technically in right-hand corner of the room, but from my point of view, I was in the left-hand corner. I was on a double bed and to _my_ right, there was a chest of drawers all the way back against the wall. In front of me, six meters away, there was a door and the wall beside the door had one of those one way mirrors on it that you see in cop shows, stretching all the way to the edge of the wall. Apart from that, there was a couch and a TV, but I tried not to focus on the furniture.

To be honest, I felt like I was in a supersized interrogation room.

This place made me feel terrified and I pulled the blankets closer to me. "You crazy bastard. Why have you done this to me?"

"All in good time, Beth," he said, his voice coming through speakers somewhere in the room.

I remembered something very important. "Where's my sister? Have you hurt her?"

There was silence and then the door opened slowly and I watched him come back in the room with Abi in tow. She was hand-cuffed and scared, but I couldn't see any cuts or blood. He brought her over to the bed and let her sit down with me.

I hugged her tightly. "Did he hurt you, Abi?"

She shook her head. "What's happening?"

"I don't know—" I began to say but he grabbed her back and began walking back out.

"Beth!"

"I love you, Abi!" I yelled just before the door closed.

Not even a moment later it reopened and he came back in. He stood with his back up against the door and was staring at me with black eyes, his fingers tapping out a monotonous rhythm.

"Bring her back! Please!"

"Why? You've seen she's okay, and _I'm not going to hurt her_—unless you don't want to cooperate?"

"Where is she?"

"In a room similar to yours."

"Why have you done this to us? Tell me! First you saved us, then you held me hostage and now you've abducted me! Why?"

"Like I said before, I want you to be with me; I…_fancy_ you."

I frowned in confusion and opened my mouth to speak but I couldn't.

"What's a matter, Beth? _Cat_ _got your tongue_?" He asked, slowly walking closer.

I pulled the blankets up to my neck. "Jesus," I whispered.

"Not even _close_," he smiled and sat down on the bed, right next to my leg. He looked me up and down and then turned his body to face me. "Is it the _scars_?"

"No. Could it possibly be because you're mad?" I sighed. "Please, my head hurts—"

"We'll get to that in a _minute_," he interrupted curtly.

"Go fuck yourself."

He didn't respond; he just stayed quiet as he looked at me. Finally, he laughed through his nose, and reached into the breast pocket of his coat and slowly took out a photo. He stared at it for a while before giving his attention back to me, extending the photo to me so I could look at it more closely. It was of me and Justin when we graduated.

"Where did you get that? You have no right to touch my belongings! Give it back."

"Not just yet," he said and paused. "Who was he?"

I didn't want to discuss Justin with him, so I waited a second and tried snatching the photo from him, but it was like he expected it and moved his hand away in time. "No, Beth, it's not _that_ easy."

I rolled my eyes. "Justin; he was my fiancé. Can I have it back now?"

"_Was_ your fiancé? What happened?" He asked, keeping his eyes on mine.

"He died. That's all you need know. Now give it."

He handed it back and I straightaway put it underneath the pillow. I turned back to him and thought rationally for a second. "Look, I'll pay you whatever you want and I won't even report this to the police— I'll leave the country even—just let my sister and I go."

For a moment he seemed calm when he looked at me, slowly taking something out of his jacket. The next moment, he was leaning over me, his left hand holding a knife to my throat, his right hand on my cheek, holding me in place. Everything was spinning and I felt like I was gong to throw up. "You think I want _money_? You think I _care_ if you report this to the police_-uh_? Not that you can anyway. Now, I already told you what I want. I've waited far too long for you."

I looked him in the eyes, his long hair tickling my forehead. "What the hell? Why me, dammit? Go get anyone else but me."

There was a change in him then, his mood had entirely altered and he was calm again. Slowly, he retracted the hand that was holding the knife and put it back in his jacket. He brought his now empty hand to brush a piece of stray hair behind my ear, giving me shivers across my whole body. "You have _lov-el-y_…long…hair. Shiver again, it _feels_ so good."

"Get off me!" I yelled at him, finally getting my hands and pushing against his chest.

He got off me and stood up, brushing some invisible lint off the front of his jacket. "Here," he said taking out a zip-lock bag from one of his many pockets, "for your head."

He tossed the bag at me and I inspected it; there were two white tablets in it. "What are these?"

"Paracetamol and Codeine: for your _headache_," he smirked, now throwing me a hipflask. "_That's_ plain ol' water."

I inspected the tablets and hesitated. "How do I know it's not GHB?"

"I would never do _that_ to you. I _want_ your _head_ to stop _hurting_, as I know it is, and for you to go back to sleep _'cause ya need it_," he said and looked down at me.

Maybe I was convinced by the logic in his last statement or maybe my head was hurting too much to fight, but I took out the tablets and downed them with the water. "Thanks," I said out of habit, but on some level, I meant it.

His eyes brightened. "I almost forgot about your _ankle_; didn't want you to wake up early with _me_ _not_ _here_."

He pulled the blanket off my left leg and produced a key, from where I did not see, but I guessed his jacket. He took my leg gingerly in his hand and lifted it to him and then he unlocked the cuff and dropped my leg back to the bed. "Night_-uh_, Beth."

"Wait!" I called after him. "Is my sister really safe?"

"Yes."

I winced, not because I was in pain, but because I couldn't know for sure. "You're not lying are you? You would tell me if she wasn't, right?"

"Beth, you are going to have to trust me, so _believe me_ when I say your sister's fine."

I nodded and then stared after him as he opened the door, closed it and locked it. The lights went off in the room and I was alone. I tried staying awake, but the Codeine and darkness took its toll and I fell asleep, not knowing if that man…the Joker…would be here when I woke up and, if so, what mood he would be in.


	6. Chapter 6

"_Seventeen year old male, unresponsive with severe head trauma…" _

_I wasn't listening to the nurses rattle off on what Justin's injuries were, I was running along with his bed, barely keeping up. I just wanted to hold his hand for as long as I could. _

"_Justin? Baby, can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me."_

_He didn't squeeze my hand. _

_He didn't open his eyes. _

_He didn't move. _

_There was an oxygen mask on his swollen face, his shirt was taken off long ago by the paramedics and there were already massive bruises forming—massive bruises to go with the massive cuts._

"_Miss, you need to let go of him now," the nurse next to me said, but I didn't. "Miss, let go now," she said in a much harsher tone. _

_I stopped running and let his hand slip from mine as he was carted into the ER. I stared at the flapping doors he just went through and found myself not knowing what to do next. Everything went black and I was alone, crying in an empty space. _

I woke up panting and sweating, my clothes feeling too hot. I ripped off the bed sheets, took my sweater off and sat up, feeling my forehead and all around my neck with my cold hands. I looked around and there was a dimmed light in the corner of the room, so I could see a little of my surroundings.

"Bad _dream-uh_?"

His voice came from the couch on the other side of the room, where I squinted to see him sitting leisurely watching me.

"How long have you been there?" I questioned, now sitting on the edge of the bed with my feet on the floor.

"Does it _really_ matter?"

I sighed, putting my head in my hands. "Only creeps watch girls sleep."

"Well, what about _husbands_ or _boyfriends_? Don't _they_ watch their women sleep? It doesn't matter though, I'm neither of _those_ things," he said, getting up and casually walking over and I noticed he didn't have his jacket on anymore.

"Then what are you? Psychopath?" I smirked, looking down at the floor.

"I do tick a lot of the boxes for it, but I'm not…_quite there_. They really should make up a new name for me," he said, sitting down quietly next to me.

I moved away from him and whispered, "How bout 'Jokerpath'?"

He moved closer to me, touching my shoulder with his bare hand. "So…what _did_ you dream about? Nothing good, I know _that_."

"Just old memories. Don't touch me," I said, flicking his hand off me.

"You're going to have to get _used to it_. You don't have a choice anymore."

I turned my head at him immediately. "What?"

"You heard me, Beth. Don't play dumb," he replied, smiling as he stared.

"I didn't say 'what' because I couldn't hear you," I said, trying to move away from him again, but I couldn't. His arm was now around my back and his hand on ribs, keeping me in place and moving me a closer to him so our thighs were touching. "I just couldn't believe you said that since something called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights disagrees with you."

"That's what I've always liked about you, Beth; you always have an answer for everything."

I shook my head at him. "Why do you talk like you know me for, huh? You think you know me from two encounters over two days?"

He tilted his head to the side near mine, so close I could smell his (shockingly) mint-laden breath. "No, I watched you very closely, _listened_ very closely, too…" he let it hang in the air, waiting for me to realise something.

I gasped. "YOU BUGGED ME! Bu—but how?"

"Maybe I should mention I put microphones and _cameras_ in your apartment? It just _slipped_ my mind not to tell you earlier."

I was angry now. "How did you get into my apartment? I keep it locked and I would _know_ if anyone jimmied the locks."

He whispered softly, his warm lips leaving tingles on my ear. "Yes, you do and I _knew_ that. I used the fire escape and then got through a surprisingly _unlocked_ window. It was the night we first met, in case you were wondering. You were on the couch, listening to your iPod and, if _memory_ serves me right, you had just watched a _James Dean_ movie."

"Let me go, I can't breathe!" I whispered hysterically at him, feeling nauseas and clawing at the hand he had on my side.

"You only _think_ you can't breathe, _Beth_, there is a _huge_ difference to not breathing at all," he said, holding me tighter.

"I'm serious! Let go!" I yelled and used all my strength to struggle free.

The Joker's grip was gone and I jumped off the bed. I saw him watch me, the sick pleasure it gave him to see me so vulnerable.

"Beth," he started saying as he got off the bed. "You're gonna get cleaned up."

"Don't touch me," I murmured, shaking off the hand he put on my arm.

He sighed impatiently. "I wasn't going to hurt you, Beth. _Lighten_ up."

I curled my upper lip into a snarl. "You don't ever do that again. If I say I can't breathe, you let me go!"

"Drama Queen," he smirked and tried grabbing my hand, but I slapped his hand away from me. "_Don't_," he warned, trying for my hand again, but again I slapped it back.

His shoulders sagged and his eyes gave me a look that meant he didn't want anymore nonsense. "I'm going to tell you something, Beth, and I want you to listen as _best_ you can. I have your sister. If you don't do exactly what I say, _I will hurt her_ _and make you watch_. Believe me, Beth; even _I_ don't want you to make me do _that_."

I was quiet for a long time, thinking about what to do next. He had me in a tight spot and, against my better judgement but for the sake of precious time and energy, I had to go with his stupid ultimatum.

"What will I have to do for you? But if you even try and touch me _or_ my sister, I will cut your face off with my nails. Understood?"

He nodded and smiled.

I sighed. "Now what?"

"Now you come with me," he said happily.

"Where are we going?"

He reached out his hand for me. "I'm taking you to the bathroom, little lady. Get yourself cleaned up and get changed. I got some clothes there waiting for you."

"Changed?"

At my last word, the hand that was reaching out to me waved at my legs. "Haven't you realised yet that you aren't wearing any _pants-uh_?"

I looked down at myself and realised that, yes, I was only in my underwear, and also that I was wearing a tight singlet without a bra on as well. To act as if I knew and didn't care, I crossed my arms in front of my chest and raised an eyebrow. "I had and I thought I could make it look like I was, but, _gosh_, _you're just so observant_."

"Well, do you want to get changed in privacy _there_ or get changed _here_ where there is none? You decide, _Beth_," he said, his hand still outreached for me.

I sighed and took a couple slow steps towards him. As soon as my hand was in his, he pulled me to him and, with lots of speed and precision, took out a handcuff and locked it around my left wrist. He smiled as he lifted up his own left arm, showing me where the other cuff was, but I couldn't really get why he cuffed me to himself.

"What the hell is this? I'm just going to the bathroom, right? Don't tell me that you're going to be in there with me!"

"Some things, Beth, are best left private, even _I_ know that. No, it's just that I don't want you to see this building. _This_ prevents you from trying to make a run for it," he paused and produced a black eye-mask from the back pocket of his trousers and put it on me. "And this prevents you from seeing any of your surroundings."

When he was putting the eye-mask on, I tried to duck and weave away from it, but he somehow managed to get it on me anyway. "This is really ridiculous now. What if I trip over something?"

I couldn't see a thing out of the eye-mask, not even when I titled my head up, but I heard his voice. I felt him moving around to be behind me, his left hand holding mine by my side and his right arm reaching out in front of my own. "You won't because you'll be close to me, won't you? I'll be your guide. Now just start walking straight and I'll tell you when to stop." I started walking like he said and knew I was heading towards the door, so I also knew when to stop. "Good girl, that was _easy_ now, wasn't it?"

He leaned onto my back a little while he unlocked the door with his right arm and then moved me back as the door opened inwards. I walked out into the open doorway and stopped. "Which way?"

"Right," he said, his left hand fingers interlocking with mine.

I turned to the right and walked again down what I suspected was a hallway. I was about to try to find a wall to hang on to because, as I couldn't see my surroundings, it meant that I couldn't get a good idea of the layout of my prison, but if I could feel the walls and doorways, I could paint a mental picture instead.

Too bad the Joker was as smart as me.

His left arm—and also my left arm because of the handcuffs—went around my stomach, pushing me back to the middle of the hallway. "_Don't_ touch the walls, Beth. Take two more steps and turn left." The hallway led to another hallway, although this new one was shorter and at the end of it, he picked up my right arm with his and held it out straight in front of me. We pushed against a door and I walked in, where he dropped his right hand from mine and used it to close the door behind us.

I could feel him move to my left and then I heard the jingle and scraping of keys as he unlocked the cuffs. I immediately took the eye-mask off and looked around. It was the kind of bathroom you'd find in a dilapidated house. There was a bathtub with a shower faucet connected to the tub on the left-hand side, a toilet in the right-hand corner, a mirror and basin opposite the door and a stool with clothes and towels on it right next to it. Although everything looked clean, the old floorboards, the bars on the window and discoloured walls, made it seem like they didn't belong.

He cleared his throat to get my attention. "I'll give you _twenty_ minutes in here. All your bathroom stuff from your apartment is behind the mirror, _okay_? I'll be close by so don't try anything _cute_. Oh, and, uh, the _shower_ is on the fritz, so be careful."

At that, he left and locked the door after him. I looked around not exactly knowing what to do, but then I saw the toilet and realised I hadn't peed in probably twelve hours. After I did that, I turned the shower on to a nice warm temperature, took off my clothes behind the shower curtain (I didn't feel totally convinced that no one was watching) and stood in the tub. It took approximately twenty seconds for the hot water to completely die out, so it turned out to be a really short shower.

It was freezing when I got out so I hurriedly put a towel around my body and one around my hair. I walked over to the mirror and looked at myself. My eyes were red and I looked pale, but other than that I looked the same. I felt different, though. I felt like I was watching a movie or reading a best-seller thriller novel, not that it was real-life for me.

I turned away from the mirror and looked at the clothes he had chosen for me to wear. There was my purple skinny jeans, lime green boy-leg undies, black strapless bra, my plain, tight, dark-grey T-Shirt and my black, hooded, zip-up jumper. It wasn't what I'd expected, but also it was—in a way. To be honest, I thought he'd have me wearing something that leaves little to the imagination and I had an inkling that he would be picking out purple and green. I was so thankful that he had the common decency to let me wear comfortable clothes.

There was a knock on the door. "Twenty minutes is up, ready or _not_, here I come!" He said and he burst through the door just as I finished zipping up the black hoodie.

"Thank-you for the clothes," I said, thinking that I should say it to establish in his mind that my reaction is good towards non-skimpy clothes and would be bad towards clothes that are.

He smiled. "No _problemo_. Time to go now, Beth; you know the drill."

I sighed and walked over to him, put the cuff and eye-mask on, wandered through the two hallways and came back to my room.

"What now?" I asked once the cuff and eye-mask were off.

"Sit down on the bed," he instructed. I did what he said and realised that there was a tray of food on the bed with me. I spied two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, an apple, a chocolate bar and a bottle of water. I looked back up at him while he was standing over me, and noticing my bewildered expression, spoke again. "Lunch is _served_."

"Lunch?"

He feigned offence. "I'm not gonna starve you, Beth. Now, are you gonna _eat_ or what?"

I turned my attention towards the food. "Y—yes, thank-you," I said, and took up the food, looking inside the sandwich and sniffing it cautiously.

He laughed when I did this. "You won't find any poison in _there_, Beth. I wouldn't _poison_ you."

I took a bite and it seemed alright and I paused before taking the next. "When can I see my sister again?"

"Soon; later today," he said and got a stool and sat down in front of me.

I stopped eating the sandwich and looked at him. "Can't she be in the same room as me?"

"No."

"She's scared to death! Please, I'd feel better knowing she has me here to help her."

"_I want you alone_, Beth. And I'm not _inter-ested_ in her anyway."

I almost spat out the water I sipped. "Then why not let her go?"

"Because it gets _you_ interested," he grinned, his scars reaching to his ears.

"How about this then? When you leave me to go out or whatever, you let her be with me then? Then you would just take her out of the room when you come back…so you and I would be alone."

"Careful, Beth. A deal means that all parties involved benefit from an agreement; you get peace of mind but what do I get?"

"You said you wanted to talk with me; I'll talk with you. Whatever you want to talk about, or even if you just want me to listen to you; I'll do it."

He stared at me as if he was daydreaming or deep in thought, but his eyes seemed dead against his ever-smiling face. After one whole minute of this, me feeling uncomfortable the whole time, he spoke. "I'll hold ya to it," he said then stood up and walked out the door.

Two minutes later he was pushing Abi into the room and taking off her blindfold. When she saw me she ran straight into my arms, sobbing.

"It's okay. Shush now…" I whispered, trying to calm her down, and then I looked over at him and nodded my thanks.

"I'll be back later tonight. There's a TV over there to watch and some books and _movies _from your place, so you shouldn't get bored. If you need to use the bathroom, one of my guys is outside to take you and he's been instructed on how to take you there. Don't plead with him either; he's killed people and he _hates_ women, so you won't get any _sympathy_ from him," he finished and walked out the door.

"Are you hurt?" I asked her, covering her with the blanket and drawing her closer to me.

"No. Do you know anything yet? Is it the Russians? Oh, my God, this is revenge for witnessing those killings!"

"No, this is something completely different," I said and then had to lie. "But I still have no idea what this is all about."

"They're gonna kill us, right?"

"I don't think so, Abi," I told her but sounded a little too confident.

She looked up at me. "How do you know?"

"He told me he wouldn't hurt us."

"Who's 'he'?"

I hesitated. "The Joker."

Her face just dropped. "THE JOKER?"

"We'll be fine. I won't let him hurt you, alright? We are going to leave here very soon."

After I said that…I had to convince myself I actually believed it.


	7. Chapter 7

The next nine hours with Abi passed slowly…more slowly than I ever imagined.

I shared the rest of my lunch with Abi, as she had not eaten hers, and I tried reading with her, looking for hollow spot in the walls and potential weapons (five I could imagine) and then watching TV. I was too scared to go to the bathroom or even knock on the door to get the _guard's_ attention; hearing the Joker's description of him made me prefer the Joker to whatever was outside the door. Better the devil you know, right? Abi went a couple of times and came back unscathed, but I was still a scaredy-cat.

Abi fell asleep on me after a while of lying down on the couch, watching TV together. I was thankful she had gone to sleep before the news came on. I watched as the news anchor-woman spoke about what happened the other night, and now the Joker also orchestrated the killing a judge and the police commissioner. I had enough switched off the TV and was silent while I thought. The only thought that went through my mind was that the Joker was serious danger for me and Abi. Dropping the remote to the floor, I put a hand over my mouth, scared witless.

There was a noise and the door to the room clicked open, the Joker's footsteps making the loudest noise of all. I didn't know whether to get up or keep sitting, but I didn't have to decide; he came around to face me in an instant.

"Good _e-ven-ing, Beth_. Time for her to go now, _as per our deal_," he said and I gently shook Abi awake.

"You gotta go now, honey," I told her and, though she was sleepy, she looked at me with a pathetic despair. "They won't hurt you and I'll see you again soon."

The Joker reached and pulled her up to put a blindfold on then took her out of the room.

The first thing he said when he came back into the room was: "_Jeffy_ out there informs me that ya _haven't_ been to the bathroom since I left. I guess you were too _afraid _to ask him to take you _so_…how would ya like it if _I_ took you now?"

I only nodded and when he came over to me, I stood up and held out my left wrist for him to cuff. He cuffed me to him, put the eye mask on and we headed out to the bathroom. I had five minutes to get myself in order, so I used the toilet and then for the remainder of my time, I sat on the edge of the bathtub, thinking about my situation.

"_Knock, knock_…"I heard him say through the door and then he came through and saw me still sitting on the bathtub. "_What_ are ya doing?"

I closed my eyes, sighing and then I looked back at him. "Just thinking."

The Joker copied my sigh and pushed the door closed. "_Yeah_…you need to block it all out and think, don't you?"

I frowned at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

He opened his mouth to say something but closed it and reopened it with something different to say. "I'll tell ya later. Let's go."

When we were walking back to my room, I noticed that he held onto my hand a little tighter and I could feel him on my back, which was an unusual contact from him. I cleared it from my mind and didn't think about it anymore…until, when we did get back to my room, he didn't un-cuff me straight away, instead surprising me with a quick peck on the lips while I still had my eye-mask on.

With my free right hand, I tore the eye-mask off. "What was that for?"

"You make it sound like I just _hit_ you," he said and, though his mouth wasn't smiling, his eyes were. "That was nothing, Beth, _nothing at all_."

"Well, I really wish you would stop doing _'nothing'_," I counted back at him and then I pointed to my left hand. "Can you please un-cuff me now?"

"Why not?" He chuckled, getting out the key from the back pocket of his trousers and unlocked us.

I was so upset with the Joker that I didn't even notice the new table in the room. The table was small, just big enough for two people, and had two plates with steak, potato and vegetables on it. There was also a bottle of _my_ red wine and some wine glasses.

"What is _this_?" I asked, looking at the table.

He placed his hands on either side of my waist and guided me to a seat. "_This_ is our _dinner_."

I sat down hesitantly. "Together?"

"That was the _idea_, Beth. Now, the steaks _aren't_ cold; they were brought in while we were walking here," he explained, sitting down and pushing his chair in loudly.

"Wait, who made this?"

"Definitely _not_ me," he smirked and then he saw me and rolled his eyes. "_Relax_; I got one of my guys to get it from a _res-tau-rant_ downtown. I'll even show you the _receipt_, if you want. D'ya mind pouring us some _wine_?"

I shook my head and reached for the wine bottle, twisting open the cap and then breathing in its scent. "This is my good wine, you know?" I told him, pouring two glasses for us.

"I'd expect you to keep nothing _but_ good wine, Beth," he said, cutting his steak.

I started cutting up my steak and then, throwing caution to the wind, I took a bite and…it was pretty good.

We ate our meals in silence, only pausing to sip our wine and sometimes look over at each other to see where we were at with our dinner. He finished only a few seconds before me and we both finished our glasses of wine at the end, but I stopped him when he tried to pour me another.

"No, no more wine for me. Thank-you for the meal."

He raised his eyebrows and put the bottle down. "You're _most_ welcome. I thought you _liked_ wine, Beth?"

"I do, but I don't like to drink much with company," I told him, taking off my jacket and then crossing my arms.

A flash of realisation came into the Joker's eyes. "Oh, I get it; you don't want to drink anymore around _me_. You're afraid I'll take _advantage_ of you in your intoxicated state."

I nodded and re-crossed my arms, feeling suddenly nervous.

"Beth…you don't have to be _intoxicated_ for me to take advantage of you," he said, seeming serious and then breaking out into laughter.

"Don't joke about something as horrible as sexual assault," I told him sternly.

His seriousness was back and he frowned at me. "Just because it's a joke doesn't mean it's not true."

I felt my cheeks go red. "Stop it; you're making me feel uncomfortable."

He leant over the table and whispered to me. "You know ya _really turn me on_ when words like _'sexual'_ and _'uncomfortable'_ come out of your _cute _mouth."

I pretended to laugh. "You know you really turn me off when words like 'turn me on' come out of _your_ mouth."

"Oh, you secretly like it," he winked.

I couldn't take it light-heartedly anymore. "No, I don't so don't talk to me like I'm some bimbo, because I'm not."

He smiled slyly at me. "Oh, so you are still a virgin, then?"

I gasped. "That's none of your business! And what do you mean 'still', huh? You've been saying stuff like that all day! Why?"

I watched him pull out a leather-bound notebook from his jacket, open it and hand it over to me. "Read aloud from the top of this page until I say 'stop'."

"Okay," I said and began. "_'September 15th–It was unusual to have someone that wasn't Janet, Darius or the Boy in the house, and the usual silence was broken upstairs. We have always been quiet, since I did what I did. I heard a girl's voice; it was refreshing in some way because it wasn't their voices. I moved my position and went to my usual spot to listen. Her name was Bethany, she and her family had just moved next door, and she had wanted to reclaim the soccer ball her sister had already kicked over our fence (but was too scared to get it herself, it seemed). The Boy, who was upstairs with her, had an immediate pitch change in his voice when he replied to her. She giggled and they went to get the ball. I had no interest to see where it would lead so I went back to my business—'_"

"Stop," he interrupted and took the book off me, turned to another page and passed it back to me before I could say a thing. "Read again."

I frowned and read. "_'October 19__th__—The Boy is infatuated with Beth. All I hear around the house is him talking about her. I hate when he talks about her, not that I don't like her, but it annoys me. I like her, I like hearing her speak… it's nice. She's almost at the house everyday now because of the Boy. I had a good look at her when she came over last night; she's brunette, tall and very pretty. Her sister is completely different to her, so I hate her. Janet and Darius are getting worried, I can tell. They just hope she doesn't find me, or I find her, but I just pretend I can't escape their prison—'_"

"Stop," he said again and turned to a different page for me to read. "Read."

"'_January 11__th__—Every night I break out of the house to see if I can watch her in her room. I can only do it if, for some reason, there are small gaps between her curtains…so most nights. I like it when she dances to music she puts on, when she whips her hair around and pretends she's on stage, but I enjoy hearing her sing much better. Watching her lying on top of her bed, reading a book in her underwear, is the greatest moment I can hope to see. So much concentration in her eyes, so much determination to finish the chapter before she goes to sleep, even if it's sixty pages long. I want her, I need her so badly. It's getting to the point where breaking into her house just to kiss her seems to appeal to me…but then again, if I go to the effort of breaking into her house, would __just__ a kiss really be worth all the trouble? I have to find some way of controlling myself because if I can't...this feeling will get the best of me.'_"

"Stop," he said once again and put the book back into his jacket.

"Explain to me exactly what that was," I said, not even wanting to guess at it.

"When I was nineteen, I did something absolutely _terrible_. My folks, Janet and Darius, instead of institutionalising me kept me locked in the basement. Don't worry; there was plenty of room for me. I actually liked it down there, but I had nowhere else to go anyway. They locked me in there so I couldn't do what I did ever again—like _murder them and the Boy_. I learnt tricks though; _I could get out whenever I wanted_, just by picking the lock they had on the door. I had been in that basement for four years when you moved next door. At first, I _didn't even care_ you were in my house, but when I got bored I listened to you talk with him. For a fourteen year old, you were so… _different_; you liked the same books as I did, you were opinionated, a little _wild_, but most of all you were _unusual_," he paused and shifted his position. "If I remember correctly, it was just before a full year had passed that you became _his_ girlfriend. I felt _enraged_ about it but_ I didn't know why_. Later I realised that it was because he had _you_. The years passed and…you were all I could think about; _truth be told_, Beth_-uh,_ it drove me a little mad."

For the first time I was here, I cried and let the tears roll down my cheeks. "Stop it. Your story is disturbing and cruel!"

I wanted to get away from him, but this room wouldn't let me do that and I _hated_ it. I stood up and walked over to the locked door while he got up from the table.

"Beth, come here," he said, coming up to me and trying to put his arms around me, but I moved away, facing him. "Aw, don't be like _that_! Also, that door is _locked_."

"I know! Also, how many times do I have to tell you not to do that? The fact that you think it's okay to touch me..." I paused, trying to get my staggering breath back to normal.

He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into his arms. "I've waited _years_ to, so why _shouldn't_ I?"

I looked up at him and held onto his shoulders, his visage blurred by my tears, but I still managed to answer him. "Because I don't want you to…you scare me and…it's hard to hear that you…watched me..."

He let go of me, looked me over for a second, then drew his hand back and struck me across the cheek. I wasn't frightened because of it, I was enraged. I scowled at him and barred my teeth, then ran up to him and slapped him back with all my might. When I drew my hand back, he grabbed it and pulled me into him then he kissed me, _hard_. I bit his lip, _hard_, and he let me go.

He broke down in laughter. "That's why I love ya, Beth! The fight! You'd never let me get away with hittin' you!"

My staggering breath came back to me, and my legs collapsed from under me, making me gasp and cry on the cold floor. I couldn't talk even if I wanted to, I just kept trying to keep my breath at a steady rate. My chest kept heaving like it was saying 'haha-ha, haha-ha, haha-ha' over and over. I felt humiliated and exposed in front of him.

He kneeled down in front of me and moved his hand to touch my sternum, feeling me struggle for breath. "Take it easy, Beth," he told me and got back up. "Time for you to sleep," he said as he walked over to the drawers in the corner of the room.

I could hear him shuffling and moving stuff around in there, but I didn't know what he was doing. There was a flash of white as he pulled out some clothing, though I couldn't really see what it was but I didn't care.

He turned back to me and stood me up, taking the handcuff and eye-mask out and I showed no resistance as he put them on me. We walked to the bathroom, the routine becoming easier and easier, and on the way my breathing reduced it's 'ha's dramatically. In the bathroom he passed me a white, cotton nightgown that I always wore in summer, and a white pair of underwear.

Before he left, I tapped him on the shoulder, completely confused. "But it's the middle of winter…"

"So…?" He narrowed his eyes.

"So, it's the middle of winter. What is this?" I held the nightgown up, but he lowered it down.

"Would you rather be naked? Because I _can_ arrange that," he grinned and I was beaten. "Five minutes."

He left me and I sighed. I did all the usual stuff before going to bed; brush teeth and hair, wash my face and use the toilet, but when I put on that nightgown there was a big problem. It was very see-through, especially up top.

I tried the bra I had on, but wouldn't fit with the nightgown, so I couldn't wear it with it. I didn't want him leering at me, but what to do? Dammit!

"I _hope_ you're ready, Beth," I heard him say through the door and I panicked and grabbed a light brown bath towel and held it to my chest.

He opened the door and looked at me curiously for a moment. My face went red and he realised what I was doing and started walking over to me, smiling.

With one hand now holding the towel around my back, I used the other to put my arm out to stop him. "No, don't come any closer—"

At that moment, he grabbed my wrist (twisting it a bit) and kissed me all the way up the inside of my arm to my shoulder. I tried pulling my arm away from him, but his grip was so tight and I couldn't use my other arm as it would drop the towel.

"Stop it!" I cried, now using my legs to try and walk away from him. "Stop! Let me go!"

There was a moment when he looked into my eyes and then the kissing seized and he freed me from his grip. I turned away from him and wiped my arm on the towel, taking off the red paint and his saliva.

I heard a loud bang in the room and I turned, just seeing the stool flying to the other side of the room and the Joker retracting his leg.

"Argh!" He yelled and looked at me, sighing. "Come on, drop that towel and let's get out of here, Beth."

"I'm not dropping the towel, you prick!" I told him and turned my back on him to change the position of the towel and wrap it around my front, like I'd just come out of a shower. I turned back and walked over to him, my hands free and my chest covered. "You even try and take this towel off me, I will go full force on you and fuck up the _rest_ of your face."

He didn't respond, but we went through our routine as if nothing happened. We didn't even speak to each other as I hopped into bed and he walked out of the room, there was nothing to say anyway. He knew I was pissed off at him and I knew that he was pissed off at me for stopping him kissing me. The lights went off in the room and I was alone in the darkness, not even thinking about Abi. I took off the towel when I was safely under the covers and dropped it on the floor…

I had no idea how long I'd been asleep for, but I woke up when I felt the covers lift and someone who was half naked get into bed with me. I gasped when I felt hands coming around my body and settling on my stomach. It was pitch black and I couldn't see a thing, so I had to rely on my other four senses.

"Shh, Beth, it's _me_," the Joker whispered in my ear, his body now spooning mine.

I tried pulling his hands off me, but nothing. "Get off me!"

He grunted and rolled me over so I was face-to-face with him, so I struggled and pushed his face away from me. As soon as I touched him, I knew something was missing. The moist, caked surface of his face was gone and I actually felt his skin.

He wasn't wearing his paint.

I felt around his cheeks and forehead, checking if I was wrong, but I wasn't. "You're not wearing paint…" I breathed.

"Yeah, well, it's not the _best_ thing to wear at _night-uh_," he replied and I felt him smile.

"Oh, my God," I said, still feeling his face and then I felt his scars. "Do they hurt?"

He grabbed my hands and held them together. "Not anymore."

"What happened?"

I felt him shrug. "I'll tell you for a kiss."

"No."

He tsked and then renegotiated. "Come on, you…_don't_ have to kiss me back."

"You've kissed me plenty of times today," I reminded him.

"So, what's one more kiss then?" He asked, pulling me right up against him.

"Tell me," I said, purposely putting my hand upon his cheek, my fingertips lightly tracing the scars.

My tactics won and he relented. "Well, I used to work for a mob when I was about twenty—before I met you—and so _one day_, I go out delivering and—"

I stopped him. "Wait, delivering what?"

"_Just_ delivering. Then guys from my mob's biggest rival see me. _Apparently_, I was in their territory. So, _ya know_, one guy on _five_ isn't really fair and when they've finished kicking the crap out of me, they _cut_ my face up. I manage to pick myself up and go back to my boss' office. He gets guys to stitch me up, but he kicks me out of his mob because of the _'insult'_ and _'embarrassment'_ on my face. With me walking down the street and _everyone_ knowing who I'm working for, my mob would be _a joke_. _Pride_ was why I was forced out."

There was a long silence on my behalf, but then I decided to at least say something. "That's horrible. I'm so sorry for you, I really am, but don't you dare think you'll get any more pity from me."

"I know, Beth," he said and there was almost a ten minute silence between us.

In the silence I had turned over again and was on the edge of falling asleep, when it started getting colder in the room. I tried to ignore it, but not even the doona could keep out the cold. That's when I instinctively moved closer against him and he started kissing my shoulder blade.

"Stop it, I wanna sleep," I murmured, too tired to fight back.

He paused to speak to me. "Then just close your eyes and _ignore_ me."

"I can't, so turn the heat up in this room, and then go to your own bed."

"But then _I_ can't sleep there."

I was fed up with him now. "Then move to the other side of the bed, where you don't touch me."

"_You_ came over to _me_. We'll be _warmer_ together like this anyway, Beth," he said in a very final tone and started kissing my back again.

I closed my eyes, keeping my hands on his arms around me. "Why didn't you say 'hello' to me just once?"

"What are you talking about?" He answered, rubbing my shoulder.

"It's just a bit ridiculous that you kidnapped me," I laughed mirthlessly, thinking about it.

"I don't think it is…I think it's necessary. _Why_ would I take you, Beth, _huh_? Imagine something for me, alright? _Imagine _there is this toy car, and then you watch as your worst enemy played with that toy car, which was really meant for you because, _let's face it_, you appreciate the car more than them. Let's say, _then_, that whatever you did, you couldn't get that car out of your mind, but you couldn't act on_ stealing_ it because you wouldn't be able to explain to it—without it _driving off_—that you lived beneath the house of its owner and you had been watching it. Do you _get it_, Beth?"

"Of course; you had to eliminate the 'driving off' factor by keeping it locked in your toy garage."

"Then you understand why I had to keep you here," he said, his fingers sliding underneath my shoulder strap.

"I do, but what did you expect? Me to just forgive you for abducting me and then fall in love with you?"

"Yeah."

"Then why wait all this time? If you thought I was meant for you, why did you wait until now?" I asked, shaking his hand off me.

"When I _was_ ready to take you, you left Gotham. _You disappeared for two years, Beth!_" He whispered harshly at me. "I put everything about you in my mind aside, thinking that you were _never_ coming back. Do you even know how _hard_ that was? But when you told me your name the other night, all the memories of you came back and _nothing-uh_ could stop me from getting to you."

"There's your problem; I would think what you just said was so romantic, but you don't give me a choice, so I can't."

"Forget that I am then, and find me…_romantic_," he smirked, burying his scarred face in my hair and moving his hands to my breasts.

I reached up and tried getting him off me. "Get your hands off me!"

He ignored what I just said and continued fondling my breasts through my nightgown. "I bet Justin never got the chance to touch you like _this_!" He whispered into my ear. "No one has, have they, Beth? _No, no_, stop struggling; the sooner you stop, the _less_ danger you put Abi in."

At that I stopped, images going through my mind of her screaming and covered in blood.

"You _forget_ I have the power to make her pay for _your_ mistakes," he laughed and kept groping me. "You didn't answer my question; has anyone ever touched you like this before? Answer me."

I rolled my eyes; I was so angry at him. "No."

"Good," he said and quickly turned me over to face him.

"Why can't you leave me alone? I don't want to have sex with you!"

"I never said anything about _sex_, Beth," he smirked. "I just need to get some sleep. You see, when I'm in bed _alone_, all I can do is _think_. I _think_ about sleeping next to _you_. I think about _breathing_ in your scent, _kissing_ your _de-_licious body; just feeling you against me. It's _not_ sex, Beth."

"Oh, my God. You're…" I whispered, not knowing what to say and still trying to get away from him.

"_Sick_? Yes, sick with longing," he told me and slid the straps of the nightgown off my shoulders. "Don't be scared, Beth, I just want to _feel_ you against me. I'm _not_ going inside ya."

I grabbed his wrists and pushed them to his chest. "No!"

He huffed and pushed back against my hands, moving them above my head and forcing them together. "Beth, stop. Just—just slide up against me, that's all I want. I'm a man of my _word-uh_, Beth."

The grip he had on my wrists loosened and he slowly released my hands entirely. I thought I could use this opportunity to try and scramble off the bed, but the second I sat up, he immediately pushed me back down again. He held my shoulders down while he calmly spoke to me again.

"_Really_, Beth? You wanna be _childish_ about this? We're both adults, so let's handle in a _mature_ way. If you don't want to do _that_, then I'll try it a different way, one which I guarantee you will _not_ like," he warned me, still keeping me down.

The anger spiked in my voice and I answered him like an angst-y teenager. "Fine! But don't you dare take my gown off."

"Good," he whispered and then pulled me into his embrace. I reluctantly embraced him as well, but the underarm version.

He made a strange noise when he pressed himself up against me, almost like a sigh of relief. He held me as close as I could be to him, but it wasn't the tight, constricting hold I thought it would be. My lips were at his collarbone, so I did have room to breathe above his shoulder, and his head was basically in the same position of mine and I could hear him breathing, too. He moved my hair to the other shoulder so he could sniff at my skin where he was, which absolutely disgusted me and gave me goosebumps, but I kept my mouth shut because of Abi.

The harmless smelling turned into small, light kisses going down my neckline, kissing every part of my breasts that the gown exposed. Not only was his mouth busy, but his hands were all over my body, circling my stomach, rubbing my back and fondling my breasts again over the thin material.

I could handle this, but after a while his show of affection became worse; his kisses became stronger and wilder. Suddenly, something started digging into the inside of my thigh and it took me a moment to realise that he was erect. I tried to say something to get him to stop, but my voice didn't cooperate. I pulled one of my arms from around his body and tapped lightly and quickly on his shoulder, trying to get his attention.

"Ignore it, Beth," he snapped.

"Stop," I managed to whisper, finally finding my voice. I waited a second for him to get off me, but he didn't and that's when I started getting agitated. "No, I mean it!"

I heard him sigh angrily and it came to an abrupt end with him releasing me from his arms. Quickly, I turned away from him, crossing my arms, and then I just lay there, staring at what I imagined to be the wall next to my bed. I felt him prop himself up on his elbow and put his hand on my shoulder, which I immediately shook off.

"You use something on your skin? It's _soft_."

I cleared my throat. "Can you go now? I want you to leave."

"_Go_? But, _why_ would I go back to bed alone, when I can sleep here with _you_ beside me?" He laughed.

I sat up and wriggled back to the corner of the bed, holding my knees to my chest.

"_Be-th_…" he whispered and I felt his hand on my leg, moving slowly up.

"Stop it," I said, shaking his hand off me.

He sighed and stroked my forearm. "Come on, it's not like I did anything _bad_ to ya."

"You came in the middle of the night… while I was sleeping…and forced me to be compliant as you assaulted me! You knew you could abuse your power over me!"

"I'm going to be honest with you, Beth. If I didn't just do what I did, then these… _feelings_ would have built up and I would have done something much worse later."

I paused. "'These feelings'…? You don't have feelings! What empathy do you have?"

He scoffed. "Oh, but I _do_. They want me to make you mine. I _tried_ staying away from you once they started again—being in a separate bed, going off and trying to dest_roy_ Gotham, just trying to _push_ you from my mind, but I _can't_. I go _cra-zy_ when I'm not around you—can't sleep, obviously, and all I do is think about you. If I let it build up, then I _won't_ be able to take _'no'_ for an answer. _So_, if it means coming into bed with you and doing stuff like _this_ to keep me in check, then be thankful."

"Why don't you let me leave, then? You don't want to hurt me. So if you don't want to hurt me, then let me leave," I whispered, shivering.

"I'd only track you down and bring you _back_," he sighed, pulling my legs down so I was lying on my back again.

It was my turn to scoff. "Don't be so sure about that. The second you let me go, you wouldn't know where to look for me."

"Then I won't _ever_ let you go. Try and get some sleep, Beth. Goodnight," he said, settling on the bed to sleep.

I didn't say anything else, just went to sleep, facing away from him the entire time. I woke up in the morning with a start, as I just had a dream, and he wasn't there in bed with me anymore. The dream was of me and him in bed together. He was underneath me, inside me, and I was on top, moving my hips back and forth on him. He had a blurred out face, but I knew it was him because I could hear his voice, whispering to me.

The thing was…I was enjoying it.


End file.
